The "Give 'Em A Chance To Vote" Story

It was an ordinary day. Just got my driver's license renewal in the mail yesterday and found that I have to have another photo taken by September 8th in order to make it current. Not only that, I have to make it current in order to vote this year. What a crock of s#@t that is as far as I'm concerned. You know, for years and years I was a registered Republican. Not sure I should tell anyone that, since I was a public school teacher and the Republican Party is definitely the anti-education party. Heck, this year the new Governor of Pennsylvania made deep cuts into how much aid was given to public school and Universities in the state, and he is a Republican. At the high school where I taught Industrial Arts for 33 years, salaries have been frozen for two years, teachers and aides have been cut, and the salaries of coaches and extra-curricular activities were cut in half. To me it looks like the Republican Party is trying to lower the educational standards of its citizens. And this morning in the Sunday News I read yet another story about the new voter ID law that was passed by the Republican State lawmakers who hold a majority in PA. They passed the law to stop voter fraud, but our current Governor, who held the office of attorney general in PA before he became Governor, didn't prosecute a single case of voter fraud in the state during the 7 years he held the office. I think the law has nothing to do with voter fraud and everything to do with suppressing the vote in the next general election in November. Since PA has more Democratic voters, the only way to beat President Obama in November is to keep the Democrats from voting. Last month the state House Majority Leader Mike Turzai told a Republican gathering that the law would "allow Gov. Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania." Wow, they don't mind bragging about why they passed the new law. Even the District Attorney of Lancaster said that there haven't been any voter fraud prosecutions since he has been in office. Pretty rotten!! My mom has voted in every election since she was 21 and this year she will not have that right. She has no valid driver's ID, since she stopped driving about 10 years ago. We can't find her birth certificate and she no longer can find her Social Security Card. She has no other form of ID and certainly doesn't have a Passport. So, as of now she, and I suspect many others who live with her at Moravian Manor Retirement Home, will not have the right to vote this election. Kinda sad that the older generation who have helped make our country strong and have fought to keep it strong won't be able to vote because the Republican Party thought of a great way to suppress the vote for this coming election. Approximately 9% of the citizens who voted in the last general election will not be able to vote unless they can somehow get a voter ID card before November. And, the Democratic Philadelphia area has 18% of voters who will not be able to vote. I know many of you who are in favor or the law say there are so many ways to get an ID, and I say to you, "Pick my mom up and take her and her friends somewhere to get the ID without any documentation." And, good luck! Not only her, but the thousands of seniors who live in Pennsylvania and will feel even more neglected than they already are. You know, "The Greatest Generation." Here's hoping that by the end of this week the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania will have struck down the new law. As for me, am I still registered Republican and vote that way? Come on people, get real!! I'm for public education, as you should be also. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.